


Fuck Off If No One Will Come Back For You

by tbmd1066



Series: Carpet Burns and Carousels [11]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst with a Happy Ending, Arthur Knows About Merlin's Magic (Merlin), Canon Era, Court Sorceress Morgana (Merlin), Established Relationship, Implications of Era-Typical Misogyny, Magic Ban Lifted (Merlin), Motherhood, Multi, Post-Magic Reveal, Pregnancy, References to Abortion, Well - Freeform, more of a happy-flavoured ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:47:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26366668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tbmd1066/pseuds/tbmd1066
Summary: "Usually, I'm frightened that my visions will come true. It's somehow much worse to be afraid that they won't.""Oh, Morgana..." Arthur sighed. "I want so badly to tell you that it'll all be great, but I... I don't know what he'll say. I wish I did. I wish I'd been able to see how much you two love each other every day.""Yeah." Morgana smiled, but there was no happiness in her amusement. "It was a fun game at first but then... I'm so afraid to make it real. You're right, we haven't taken it seriously, even after all these years. I...I love him, I can't imagine loving anyone else, but our love has always just been between the two of us. It was private. No one else needed to know."Merlin didn't need telepathy to know he and Arthur were thinking the same thing."Secrets can keep you safe," Merlin acknowledged. "But they can hurt worse than hellfire."
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Morgana/Someone (Merlin)
Series: Carpet Burns and Carousels [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1769542
Comments: 11
Kudos: 118





	Fuck Off If No One Will Come Back For You

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, this is the one where you find out who Morgana's suitor is. I didn't put it in the tags due to spoilers and also because he's not in this fic. Just didn't put him in. Maybe next time. (See endnotes for more about next time.)

Although it had been a few months, Merlin still woke with surprise at just how much he could see now. He hoped the feeling never went away. He was filled with joy each time he sat at the round table and saw the beautiful colours of his friends' lifeforce. After all they'd been through, it was sometimes hard to believe his friends were still alive. It was nice to see it with his own eyes. Lancelot, Gwaine, Leon, Morgana, Morgana's zygote, Arthur. It was all too easy to imagine how things might have gone sideways. 

Wait. 

Merlin took a second look at Morgana. He wasn't mistaken. There was a spark of life there that was new since the last time he'd seen Morgana. Which meant that it was only two days old at most, and she probably didn't even know. 

What the fuck was he supposed to do with this information? Blurting out that she was pregnant during the meeting was clearly not it. Telling her discreetly was terrifying. And what was worse was that he still had absolutely no clue who the father could be. The identity of Morgana's lover had remained private information for the last seven years. 

_ 'You okay?'  _ Arthur asked silently. 

"Yeah, of course." Merlin didn't trust himself to reply to Arthur telepathically without blabbing. If Arthur found out that Morgana was pregnant, there was no chance of him taking it calmly. "Just a little distracted."

He closed his eyes during the meeting and allowed his gaze to rest within Morgana. It was so tiny. No heartbeat, not yet even a singular creature. It was a spark of life created by the combination of matter that had merged and started reproducing—more of something foreign and living within Morgana's body that wasn't entirely her. It was microscopic, but dividing into new cells and building its own unique biological identity. It was barely anything at all now, but if it continued to grow and develop, one day, it would be a baby. 

Morgana might have a baby. Did she want a baby? Had it been intentional? That seemed unlikely. She might not want to keep it. The thought made Merlin sad, but it wasn't any of his business. He shouldn't even know. But he did know; he was probably the only person who knew. 

He didn't have to do anything about it. Morgana would find out soon enough, and he'd kept bigger secrets for far longer. 

After all, how long could anyone go without realizing they were pregnant?

* * *

An entire month, apparently. 

Merlin had been flipping through one of Gaius's medical books for the better part of an hour and had refreshed his knowledge on a few things. Morgana would begin having morning sickness for at least another four weeks if she got it at all. That meant her first clue would be missing her period. Morgana always took that week off from their magical practices, so Merlin knew that she wasn't due for another week. 

There was no way he could keep this from Arthur for an entire week. He thought of how long he'd kept his magic a secret from Arthur. When had he lost that ability? When he vowed to be honest with him at the alter, perhaps. Probably earlier. 

"What are you reading?" 

Merlin jumped about a foot in the air. He'd been so engrossed in thought that he hadn't heard Arthur come in. Just because his senses had been enhanced didn't mean he always remembered to use them. 

"Nothing! Medical stuff! Boring!" Ah, yes, very smooth. Had he always been so bad at lying? Arthur raised both an eyebrow and Merlin's heart rate. The king leaned down to look at the book and grimaced.

"You're reading about pregnancy?"

"Er, yes?"

"You know, Merlin, I don't know if Gaius has had 'the talk' with you yet, but I'm sorry to say that the two of us aren't going to have to worry about how to make babies."

"Ha-ha," Merlin responded. "Worth knowing about anyways." He closed the book and hoped that would be enough to put it out of Arthur's mind. "How was dinner?"

"Dull," Arthur groaned, flopping into his chair. "Lady Greenwall asked after you."

"That's nice of her."

"Mhmm. She sends her regards."

"And Lord Greenwall?"

"He did not."

Merlin rolled his eyes. "No, what did he have to say about the harvest?"

"It sounds very promising. Greenwall had a wet summer, but it seems like there wasn't too much damage." 

"Good, that's a relief."

Arthur hummed in agreement. "The town should be able to support themselves without our aid, though Lord Greenwall didn't seem very optimistic about their exports."

Merlin wasn't surprised. "When is he ever? You've got to be harder on him. Honestly, I wish Lady Greenwall were running things down there; she'd be so much better to work with."

"He's just trying to keep his resources within his township. I can hardly blame him for wanting Greenwall to flourish."

"No, but you can blame him for using those resources to line his own pockets."

"You think he would sell his exports to make money for himself?"

"I don't think he wouldn't do that." Merlin slid a finger along a golden stream of magic on the edge of the table. His mind slipped through space, allowing him to look at Greenwall's fields without leaving his chair. "All I know for certain, though, is that even though Greenwalls crops are flourishing, they haven't paid their taxes in full for three years."

Arthur groaned again. "I suppose I had better arrange for another meeting with Lord Greenwall in the morning."

"Yes, I suppose so."

"Come with me?"

"If you insist." Merlin smiled and leaned forward, pulling at Arthur just a smidge with magic for a quick kiss. He stretched and curled his magic around Arthur's shoulders. They were tense, but not terribly so. "Start getting changed," Merlin said. "I'll be right there." 

"M'kay." Arthur stood and stretched, removing his cloak and crown. Merlin let one of the guards at the door know that Lord and Lady Greenwall were to have breakfast with them in the morning and then headed back to the love of his life who had somehow managed to get stuck in his shirt. 

"If you suspected Greenwall was having me on, why didn't you say so earlier?" Arthur grumbled. 

Honestly, Merlin had completely forgotten about Arthur's dinner. He'd been much more preoccupied with what he'd learned about Morgana. "Just didn't think about it, I guess. No harm in letting him have another chance."

"No, but I feel a bit foolish," Arthur grunted as Merlin yanked his shirt off. 

"You wanted to make sure that the people of Greenwall were looked after. Nothing foolish about that."

"Still, I can't have people abusing my trust. I'm going to have to discipline Lord Greenwall." 

Merlin knelt to unlace Arthur's boots and said nothing. He had already told Arthur exactly what to do and was quite sure he'd do it.

"Perhaps I could place Lady Greenwall in charge of their financial affairs."

Merlin smiled at the floor, where Arthur couldn't see. "I don't know, do you think that would really change things? Wouldn't Greenwall just tell his wife what to do?"

"No chance. In fact, if she were to have her own means of supporting herself, I doubt their marriage would last long."

That was certainly true. Lady Greenwall had made it no secret to Merlin that she disliked her husband. As she'd said herself, he was a greedy, sneaking bully. 

"Well, then." Merlin stood and offered his arm for Arthur as the king toed his boots off. "I think that would make a very good example out of him."

Arthur nodded, goosebumps appearing over his chest due to the chill of the room. Merlin ran his magic over them, firm and warm and very appreciative of the muscles. 

"This isn't my favourite part of being king," Arthur said. "Punishing nobles." 

"I'm sure it's not." Merlin put away Arthur's boots and tossed his shirt into the hamper. It didn't need to go there; he'd launder it with magic later, but later and now were two very different things.

"Father always said it was important that a king showed strength, striking fear and respect into his subjects' hearts." Merlin frowned, not liking where Arthur's train of thought was headed. "I don't want my subjects to fear me, but I need them to respect me."

"They do. But there will always be some like Lord Greenwall who lack integrity. It's not your fault." He cupped Arthur's face and kissed him. "Now go to sleep. Your forehead is all wrinkly."

"Oh, piss off."

"You're getting old, Arthur."

"I am not!"

"Old and sleepy..."

"You..." Merlin squeaked as Arthur hoisted him over his shoulder and laughed when his husband tossed him onto the mattress with a grunt. "Shush!"

"Barbarian!" Merlin laughed. Arthur collapsed on top of him. "Get off, you're heavy!" 

"Old and fat? I ought to have you in the stocks, Merlin!" 

"How dare you! I'll have you know I'm the king's husband, and he won't take kindly to such treason!" 

They were still giggling, lying together in a bleary-eyed embrace when there was a knock, and the door opened. Merlin looked up sharply, no longer half-asleep. 

Morgana looked even paler than usual in her nightgown, peeking around the doorway. "I had a weird dream." 

Arthur and Merlin glanced at each other, and wordlessly sat up. Morgana clambered over the footboard in a most unladylike fashion and sat there nervously.

"A prophecy?" Arthur asked.

Morgana pursed her lips. "No, I dreamt I was a fisherman flying on a cloud boat catching birds. Of course, it was a prophecy." 

Merlin chuckled. "You said weird, though, not bad." Morgana's dreams usually came to her as warnings. They were less frequent now, but still unpleasant. Visions of good to come weren't common. 

"It..." Morgana fidgeted, thinking of how to explain. "It wasn't frightening. Or rather, I wasn't afraid until I woke up and started thinking about it." Arthur leaned forward to take her hand. 

"What happened?"

"It was... this little girl was running towards me in a field. Maybe ten or eleven years old. She held a pair of pruning shears; someone was yelling at her not to run with them... an old man, I think. I don't know who's voice it was, but I knew it in the dream. I thought the girl would be hurt, that's how these dreams often are, but she was fine." Morgana licked her lips. "She hugged me, tight as anything. I was so happy it hurt."

Merlin tried not to let the shock show. Her daughter. It must have been. Morgana had dreamt of her daughter. 

"She let go pretty quickly, and I remember that hurt, too. I told her she'd grown... She showed me the embroidery on her apron and told me she'd done it herself. I felt...proud, but jealous? Or sad, maybe." Morgana shook her head to clear her thoughts and sniffed. "And then it changed, I um, I was reading to her. It was the same girl, but she was younger. I was reading poetry to her, and I'd pause before a rhyming word to let her say it, and she'd always say the wrong thing. The sentence would make sense, but it wouldn't rhyme at all, and I was getting frustrated, but Arthur, you...you kept laughing." The corner of her mouth twitched. "I suppose it was a bit funny." 

Arthur nodded. "Go on," he asked.

Morgana pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them. "And then...you kept laughing, but we were out on the training pitch, and you were carrying her on your shoulders, letting her cover your eyes while the knights came at you. They obviously weren't trying their best, but everyone was so happy...he-" her voice cracked. "I don't know, maybe it was just a dream."

Merlin sighed and moved forward on the bed to pull Morgana into a hug. "No, I don't think so." He pulled back, and Morgana's hand gravitated, perhaps unwittingly, just below her stomach. "I can see it. There's... this little spark. Brand-new, just barely there, but you've seen what it can grow into if that's what you want."

Morgana stared at him, her eyes shining with tears. "I do, but..."

"Morgana," Arthur said tentatively. "Are you pregnant?" 

She nodded.

Arthur stood and began pacing. Merlin sighed. He knew Arthur wouldn't be calm about it, but he could have at least waited until Morgana was gone to start panicking. He could feel Arthur's heart hammering in his chest, pulling at Merlin's magic for solace. Merlin brushed his magic over Arthur's shoulders and put a bit of pressure at the king's back.

"That's wonderful, Morgana. Really, it is." Merlin said, trying to reassure both of them. 

Morgana nodded again, but she looked uncertain. "Do you think I'm too old to become a mother?"

Arthur whirled around to stare at his sister. " _ That's  _ what you're worried about?!" he nearly shrieked.

"Well, yeah," Morgana shrugged. "I'm thirty-three." Merlin supposed that was a bit later than usual, but it clearly wasn't the issue Arthur had been worrying over.

"Morgana,  _ who's the father?!"  _

"Oh... Right, I should probably tell him."

"Probably!?"

"Well, it's not that serious, I don't know how he'll feel. It's not like we planned this." Morgana's tone was cool and even, but Merlin could see her hands shaking. 

"Morgana," Merlin said, trying to be at least a little more gentle than his disaster of a husband. "You've been saying it's not that serious for seven years." 

"Exactly!" Arthur snapped. "Whoever it is, you're both in your thirties, maybe even late thirties. It's time to stop fucking around and grow up!" 

"Settle down and get all domestic, you mean?" Morgana shot back. "That's never really been my style, Arthur." 

Merlin bit his lip. It was her life, her choice. He shouldn't say anything, but he thought of her dream. Arthur carrying his niece on his shoulders, probably beginning to teach her to fight the way he had once learned. Ultimately, yes, it would be Morgana's choice to make that dream a reality, but she wasn't the only one involved in that future.

"Your daughter will be second in line for the throne of Camelot," Merlin said. They both looked at him as though they hadn't realized that at all. "As someone who grew up a bastard, I can tell you that it's not the most pleasant experience. I can only imagine how much worse it'll be for a royal." 

Morgana stared at him. "You're telling me to get married."

"Heaven knows I've never been able to make you do anything, Morgana," Merlin scoffed. "But yeah, I'd recommend it."

"You don't need to look so grim about it," Arthur said. "Being married to the man you love is actually quite pleasant." Merlin smiled and let his magic press small, soft kisses against Arthur's cheeks while he kept watching Morgana. 

"Are you in love with him?" Merlin asked softly.

"Yes." The acknowledgement of it was quiet, nervous, but true. It didn't seem to bring her much comfort. Merlin remembered feeling that kind of love. A frightened, lonely love that could never be expressed the way it was felt. 

_ 'Do you remember this, too?'  _ he asked his husband.

_ 'Yeah, I do.'  _ Arthur sighed aloud and moved around the bed to sit on Morgana's right. 

"What if he doesn't want it?" A tear slipped down her cheek. 

"Morgana," Arthur said, clearly trying to be calmer than he had been. "You asked me if I trusted my knights with you, and I do. I can't imagine any of them abandoning you like that. Well, except Gwaine, maybe," he joked, but Morgana burst into tears. 

_ 'You fucking moron.'  _ Merlin thought at him.

"Ohh..." Arthur winced and pulled Morgana into a hug. "It is Gwaine, isn't it?"

"Yes," she wept.

"I'm so sorry."

"You're an arse!" 

"Yep, definitely, I'm sorry."

"Do you really think—" 

"No, I don't." Arthur couldn't cut off the hysteria creeping into Morgana's voice fast enough. "It was a stupid joke. I'm sorry." Morgana kept sobbing, and Arthur kept apologizing. 

_ 'I can't believe I fucked that up so badly.' _

_ 'A true marvel of human communication.' _

_ 'Yup.' _

_ 'Dollophead.'  _

_ 'Yup, that's me.' _ Arthur groaned and leaned his head onto Morgana's shoulder. "I'm sorry, really, that was a daft joke. Gwaine, eh? I really thought it was Leon."

Morgana let out a half-choked laugh. "As if! Leon's practically family. Imagining him naked is disgusting."

Merlin laughed. "And he's so chivalrous, which is lovely, but..." 

"I hardly need that in a man," Morgana finished, smiling.

"What's wrong with having a man who will protect and respect you?" Arthur frowned.

"Nothing, but I think I'd best leave Leon to the women who need protecting." She tilted her head at Arthur and then rolled her eyes when she saw that he was still confused. "I can shoot fire from my fingertips, Arthur, I don't need a man who's going to worry about me all the time."

"And I suppose Gwaine doesn't worry." Merlin didn't miss the edge in Arthur's voice, but Morgana seemed content to breeze past it.

"Certainly not. He knows I'm stronger than he is."

"I don't just mean protecting you in a fight, though." Arthur shifted to be able to look Morgana in the eye. "This whole charade... Perhaps you two were having fun sneaking around, but he ought to have courted you properly and married you years ago. You're a princess and my court sorcerer. You know as well as I do how important our reputations are. The people of Camelot deserve leaders they can be proud of. Heaven knows you can protect yourself from monsters and bandits, but Gwaine ought to have protected your reputation."

Merlin could see Morgana's jaw clenching and could feel the heat of anger seeping through her nightgown. 

"You think I've tarnished my reputation?" 

Arthur flinched but held his ground. "I think you're running a pretty serious risk," he said. "Even if you married Gwaine tomorrow, people would soon realize why."

"We haven't done anything to be ashamed of." The air crackled with heat. Fire... It had been one of the first things that Merlin had taught Morgana. Fire was eager, responsive and wild, and it was listening. 

"No, you haven't," Merlin said, trying to calm the energy sizzling in the air. "Whether you marry Gwaine or not, your daughter is going to have an amazing mum," he reached out to grab Arthur's hand, holding it over Morgana's lap. "And two doting uncles." Arthur nodded stiffly. "The people will say what they think, and it may not all be kind, but even we can't change the past. Nor should we." 

"I..." The fire settled, though it was still listening. Morgana swallowed hard and pulled them close. "I hate being scared. This should be wonderful, I've...I've wanted to be a mum for ages, but..." She gripped Merlin's arm tightly, and through his magic, he could feel her doing the same to Arthur. "I did see Gwaine in my dream. On the training pitch, laughing with everyone. He looked happier than I've ever seen him." Her lip trembled. "Usually, I'm frightened that my visions will come true. It's somehow much worse to be afraid that they won't." 

"Oh, Morgana..." Arthur sighed. "I want so badly to tell you that it'll all be great, but I... I don't know what he'll say. I wish I did. I wish I'd been able to see how much you two love each other every day."

"Yeah." Morgana smiled, but there was no happiness in her amusement. "It was a fun game at first but then... I'm so afraid to make it real. You're right, we haven't taken it seriously, even after all these years. I...I love him, I can't imagine loving anyone else, but our love has always just been between the two of us. It was private. No one else needed to know."

Merlin didn't need telepathy to know he and Arthur were thinking the same thing. 

"Secrets can keep you safe," Merlin acknowledged. "But they can hurt worse than hellfire."

"I loved Merlin for quite a while before I told him," Arthur said. "Holding it back from him was torture, but keeping it a secret afterwards wasn't a whole lot better."

Merlin remembered those days. Moving his things into the ante-chamber, changing sheets on a bed that hadn't been touched. Casting silencing charms on the door every night to stop the guards from listening, keeping up with castle gossip out of paranoia. Praying to all the gods there were that Uther wouldn't catch on. The day that Arthur had pulled out the chair on his left for Merlin at the round table had been one of the proudest moments of his life. Having even a small group of friends who saw them, really saw them... It had been better than Merlin's wildest dreams. 

"I don't think there is anything quite so wonderful as being openly in love," he said. "It is frightening, it is risky, but it's so, so worth it." 

Morgana looked down at Merlin and Arthur's hands, still intertwined on her lap. Her fingers let go of Merlin's arm to brush over the smooth, warm gold of his wedding ring. 

"I'll have to tell him." Morgana's voice wavered, and she cleared her throat. "It can wait until the morning, though."

"Do you want us to come?" Merlin asked softly.

"Absolutely not," she scoffed. "Like I said, don't want this one scaring him off." She jerked her head towards Arthur, who laughed. 

"Oh, please," Arthur rolled his eyes. "It's clearly far too late for that, you're completely besotted with him." 

"Plus, I'm pregnant with his child, so you're rather hoping he'll marry me." They all laughed, despite not really finding it funny. "Just... Arthur, just promise me something? Please?"

"What?"

"If...If he doesn't. If it's not what he wants, don't punish him for it, okay? It's not to do with him being a knight; it's personal, nothing to do with his job."

"I don't know that I agree with that. I expect my knights to be responsible. Their personal lives should respect the ideals they've sworn to uphold." Merlin could feel Arthur's protectiveness swelling in his chest, feeding an anger every bit as hot as Morgana's. 

She glared, not yet too tired to argue. "Arthur—"

"I understand that you don't think you need chivalry," Arthur interrupted, his anger burning ever warmer. "But I can't keep respect for a man who would choose not to be involved in his child's life. No child deserves a father like that. Certainly not my niece."

Even now, after Merlin had known the man for eleven years, Arthur could still surprise him. His husband's righteous anger sparked Merlin's own, and he too felt protective of the little bundle of cells that would one day grow into his niece. This child ought to be so wholly loved that the sea, the stars, and the sunset would weep for envy. He took a deep breath. Power like his didn't pair well with rage, even rage born of love. Gwaine was his friend, frustrating in the way that only the closest to one's heart can be. 

"Gwaine is a good man," Merlin said. "Indeed, he values being free, but he's not stupid enough to think having a family is losing freedom."

"Yeah..." Morgana whispered, deep in thought. "That's why he left his last family, though." 

"His last family wasn't us," Merlin said firmly. "You honestly think he'd still be here if he felt trapped?"

"No."

"No. Arthur is right. Camelot's knights are sworn to uphold certain ideals, and Gwaine would never have become a knight if he didn't believe in them. You wouldn't love him if he didn't." 

Morgana's smiles were beginning to be brighter. "No." 

"You love him?" Merlin asked, knowing the answer.

"Yeah."

"He loves you?" he asked, not knowing the answer.

Morgana's silence seemed to indicate that she didn't know either. She clutched at the front of her nightgown as if she could reach the little life within her. "If he doesn't, I won't marry him. I want him to be there for her, but if he doesn't want to marry me, I won't make him. He can't love me out of guilt or obligation, and I can't watch him grow resentful. She deserves better than that, too." 

Merlin glanced at Arthur. He looked unhappy about what Morgana was saying, but he kept his mouth shut.

"I can't imagine Gwaine settling down, so to speak," Merlin said. "But imagining the two of you together seems just right." 

"Three of us," Morgana corrected.

Merlin grinned. "The three of you, right." 

Morgana sighed and leaned against Merlin. The fire had fizzled out, and the air felt cool and heavy. Merlin stood and pulled the sheets back for his husband and sister-in-law. 

"Come on now. Busy day tomorrow."

"When isn't it?" Arthur quipped. "Always something with you two."

Morgana rolled her eyes. "Please, Arthur, you cause more trouble than the two of us combined."

"Yes, but that way, you're too busy sorting my problems to make your own." They laughed as they got into the bed. It was a bit of a tight fit, but that didn't bother them at all. Morgana curled up into her brother's chest while Merlin shuffled upwards so that his head was nearly touching the headboard. He could see them all three of them from here, those silly family members of his. Morgana curled into her brother's chest, not quite free of her worries, but she was as safe as she could possibly be here. Merlin's magic was for Arthur, of course, it was the whole reason he'd ever bothered leaving the network of magic threaded through the universe. Arthur was the reason Merlin had become human, but Morgana was why they'd stayed.

**Author's Note:**

> Some thoughts:  
> Morgana: Hey, this fic was supposed to be funny.  
> Me: Yeah I forgot and did catharsis again. Sorry.
> 
> Y'all were tied for thinking it was either Gwaine or Leon, both with some pretty good reasoning, so I hope there's no disappointment! I just enjoy the potential of Gwaine and Morgana being in a relationship. The bants could have been fucking incredible, and if canon cannot provide, I shall. In The Latest and Greatest Lame Campaign, their dialogue is actually borrowed from Benedick and Beatrice's first scene in Much Ado About Nothing. 
> 
> I do want to follow this up, with Gwaine and Morgana and the baby, and all that. The list of fics I want to write just keeps expanding, (I have 5 wips send help) which would be fine, except that I start back at University in uhhhh almost exactly 37.5 hours. So the time I have available for writing Merlin fanfiction is about to be drastically reduced. So even though the main storyline is kind of done for this series, I don't really want to mark it as complete, even though it'll probably be updating a lot less often.  
> Who knows, though, maybe my ADHD meds will do their job and I'll find time for five courses worth of homework and directing a youth theatre company online and continuing this series. Maybe online uni will be super low-key and not demanding.  
> But probably not. 
> 
> So while I still intend to work on this, updates are gonna take a lot longer now. 'Tis the season, I guess. I don't expect to slam out anything tomorrow, which is my last day before classes start, so savour these! I've had an amazing time writing them, and reading your comments and getting feedback has genuinely been one of the best parts of my summer. Thank you all so much, and I'll talk to you again at some undetermined point in the future, which as you may recall, does not exist.  
> Cheers,  
> Lin
> 
> EDIT: FUCK I FORGOT  
> Title is from the Amazing Devil's song "Pruning Shears."


End file.
